Signs of lightning damage?

Zohan. There is a really easy solution for eliminating condesation that forms inside 'sealed' fixtures. (This ocurs when you open the fixture to install the lamp in humid conditions, then you close the fixture, trapping the humid air. Later the ambient temperatures decrease and the moisture condenses out of the air and onto the interior fixture surfaces.)

I am a bit tired of 'giving away' my secrets on this forum and seeing my local competition benefit from my experience, so drop me a private message and I will tell you how to solve this.

I have had a few instances where lightning has hit a down light in a tree and of course it traveled all the way to the transformer and fried it. You will find a small black spot on the fixture where the lighting hits. The lamp will probably be in several pieces and the socket may be exploded.

about 16 years ago an 8o something year old retired electrician we would use on simple jobs said to me, "electricity...she's a fickle maiden." He was a joy to be around. he worked with a retired carpenter in his 70's, last name Shrewsbury. handed me their business card one day; Shrewsbury Home Improvement Team, undereneath in letters 3 times the size S.H.I.T.

about 16 years ago an 8o something year old retired electrician we would use on simple jobs said to me, "electricity...she's a fickle maiden." He was a joy to be around. he worked with a retired carpenter in his 70's, last name Shrewsbury. handed me their business card one day; Shrewsbury Home Improvement Team, undereneath in letters 3 times the size S.H.I.T.

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LOL.. Too funny.. I love it!.... Ya gotta love old men.. who can get away with stuff like that. Someday, I hope to be one of em!

When I did the spring lighting tune up at the house there were 10 or 12 bullet fixtures out. When I took off the front to change the lenses they all had moisture in them, some had a little more than moisture..anywhere from a few drops to a little puddle(small). These were vista 2216 fixtures. The other day when changing transformer I went through system again and there are 3 more out. There are 45 of those on the project with 9 2133 path lights, none of them are out.
Any one have this problem and do I have any recourse with vista? These were just put in last season, I shouldnt have to keep replacing them. I already did the first 10-12 on my dime because it was within the 1 year warranty on bulbs I gave them but if this keeps happening I will have unhappy clients.

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Zohan-

The Vista 2219 has a weep hole at the base of the fixture, I'm not sure about the 2216, so look for that. This hole can drain water, but mostly is is a way for water and bugs to get IN. See photo of the 2219 in my yard (repurposed from a client's yard!). I have the weep hole in the wrong position, so it COULD catch water instead of draining. Not an issue for me since the lamp runs 22 hours per day testing lamp life of a GE constant color (last one died at 6,703hrs) vs. the illumicare LED (currently at 15,356hrs and counting).

The factory lamps from Vista are Ushio, so lamp quality is not the problem most likely. These fixtures don't seal particularly well even considering the weep hole, so moisture will get in, and the lamp will burn it off, unless it's burned out. The same happens to the lights at my parents' house. The system is on a manual switch (which they rarely use), and I have to replace lamps with less than 200hrs on them because the moisture breaks down the white ceramic-like stuff that holds the lamp in the reflector, and then corrodes the pins off. If they would just turn the lights on once a week or so, the lamps would actually last longer! Some clients cannot be reasoned with though, especially if they're related to you.